Hidden Dragons
by Samayo Kaze
Summary: Zeno deserves more love guys, he really does. I was inspired by the song Soldier, which I used but do not own - DISCLAIMER No hating alright people. This is becoming my dumping ground for all things from my Moonlit universe, mostly featuring Zeno, Shin ah, and Yuki. Also, I have a new poll up concerning the Moonlight Universe. If it can not be found, someone tell me please.
1. Hidden Dragons

"Speaking"

" _Thoughts or Aura speech"_

 _Singing_

The night was calm, a gentle breeze blowing through the trees and sliding across the rooftops. The full moon that hung in the sky offered a steady fast light even in the midst of the cool night. A figure perched silently on the end of a roof, secluded from sight from below by a low tree that offered a hint as to how the figure had gotten onto the roof. A cloud cleared the moon and the figure's face was illuminated as the young woman turned her face to the heavens. With long, fluffy, hair that shone whiter than the snow that sometimes fell in the northern regions and skin as pale as the moonlight, she almost looked like a ghost or a statue that taken up residence of her perch long ago. Then her deep, passionate, eyes slid open—revealing their color of freshly spilt blood to the moon that reminder her so much of her currently missing love. She sighed, placing her hands on the roof behind her, and leaned back as she soaked in the moon and starlight. She breathed in deeply, then began to sing softly into the wind:

 _I'm in love with an angel_

 _Heaven forbid_

 _Made me a believer_

 _With the touch of his skin_

 _I'd go to hell and back with you_

 _Still lost in what we've found_

 _Worlds apart, we were the same_

 _Until we hit the ground_

 _Maybe I'm crazy_

 _Maybe I'm weak_

 _Maybe I'm blinded by what I see_

 _You wanted a soldier,_

 _But it wasn't me_

 _Cause I can never set you free_

 _So fly, on your own_

 _It's time, I- let you go_

 _Go_

Tears ran down her face as she sang, her breathing beginning to hitch as she struggled to push through her emotions in order to finish the song. He meant everything to her, and she would do anything for him even if in doing so she had to let him go. She respected his wishes. He wanted to to leave, so she let him. Even if it was the hardest thing she had ever had to do.

 _I'm in love with an angel_

 _Who's afraid of the light_

 _His halo is broken,_

 _But there's fight in his eyes_

 _Walls are built to keep us save_

 _Until they're crashing down_

 _Worlds apart we were the same_

 _Until you hit the ground_

 _Maybe I'm crazy_

 _Maybe I'm weak_

 _Maybe I'm blinded by what I see_

 _You wanted a soldier,_

 _But it wasn't me_

 _Cause I can never set you free_

 _So fly, on your own_

 _It's time, I- let you go_

 _So fly, on your own._

 _It's time, I let you go_

 _Go_

Tugging her sleeve over her hand, she wiped the tears off her face with shuddering breaths. It had been almost an entire year since he had set out and it was killing her. She had never been so isolated from the other clans for so long, even when her boys were not around others of the blood were to help soothe the ache she felt deep within her soul, and the way it was affecting her was beginning to show. Yesterday one of the servants had caught her almost drop a cup because of how badly she was shaking. Even worse was that there was nothing she could do about it. There was no way to get to the dragons from here and she still could not find an acceptable reason to leave. She ran her fingers gently through her hair, careful not to catch them on the braids she stubbornly still wore. She might have had to stop wearing her love's markings, but nothing on this earth or in the heavens above could make her get rid of her braids unless her love came back and told her face to face that she had to. Which was never going to happen, because just as she respected his choices he respected hers and he knew just how important her braids are to her. Her inner conflicts were interrupted as a shadow moved to her left. She shifted slightly as a second figure joined her, snuggling firmly into her side and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"You've been up here a long time, the others are beginning to fret," he murmured softly into her collar bone as he rested his head on her shoulder. She smiled gently down at her savior and close friend, ruffling his blond hair soothingly.

"The others will be fine. We can stay out here a little longer," she remarked back to the boy, without whom there was no way she could have lasted this long here. Zeno may look like a boy on the outside, but he was very much a man once you got past the deceiving exterior. He was a Warrior, one of the original Warriors, and it took a great deal of stress off both of them to no longer be alone. They had been alone for so long. Still, it was hard to go from being surrounded by all the different remaining Clans to only having one other Dragon. It probably would have been easier, but the two of them also had to hide their Dragon Auras. They were managing, but it was incredibly stressful not to mention harmful. Without a way to release the excess energy, she was starting to break down. Zeno was fair better, his connection to the dragons allows him to use any damage caused as an outlet for his energy. She wished her love was here. If he was, she could draw on his abilities to release some of the energy that was tearing her apart without having to worry about being discovered. As it was, she had taken up a little garden out in a secluded corner to feed her power through the earth and grow flowers, herbs, bushes, and even a few trees. She made sure to keep everything healthy and growing at a normal rate. It helped, but only so much. Noises from below drew her attention, and she sighed as she rested her head on Zeno's. "We should be going back." Neither of them moved for a long few seconds before Zeno slowly sat up and the two of them looked each other in the eye, searching for the reassurances they needed to go down and deal with the people waiting for then. _"Don't worry, I'm here, It's okay, not leaving, You're not alone."_ She stood and stretched before offering Zeno a hand and pulling him to his feet as well. The two silently made their way off the roof and down the tree. Once on ground level, they slipped from building to building until they arrived at a large and obviously occupied one. Giving each other a side ways look, she bumped Zeno's shoulder reassuringly as the two quietly reentered the building both had separately fled earlier in the night. The celebration was still in full swing, though what it was for neither of them could remember, and the two unobtrusively mixed with the crowd. A group of older boys called out to Zeno who hesitated, looking from them to the woman at his side. She smiled at him and pushed him forward towards the kids. He frowned, obviously worried, but nodded and left to join the boys that had called out to him. Zeno turned back once he got there to seek out his secret heart sister, who had met up with a group of generals that she watched train in the mornings. They were the closest things she had to friends here. His brow furrowed as the generals opened their conversation to include her, _"Be careful, Yuki,"_ he projected faintly through his Aura. She caught his eye, and half smiled at him as she nodded.

" _I will."_


	2. Moonlit Bonding

"Speaking"

" _Thoughts"_

" _ **Memory Speech/thoughts"**_

 **Memory**

Shin ah never meant to stick so close to Zeno, it just seemed to happened. It was not really a conscious decision on his part to constantly almost hover around the smaller dragon. It was just that Zeno reminded him so much of her that it was literally painful at times and he had to escape for a little while to get himself back together. He was lucky no one had followed him yet. So, no, he never means to end up so close to Zeno, but there were times when he thought that the other dragons did. He did not mind most of the time, but occasionally he wished that they were more willing to let him handle his own problems.

He returned from finding firewood to see that dinner was ready, and the others of the Happy Hungry Bunch were gathered around the fire—leaving the only gap right next to Zeno. He settled into what had become his usual place at the fire without complaint—unconsciously leaning in just slightly towards the blonde—and nodded in thanks when Yun handed him a bowl of food.

"You took a long time getting that firewood, Shin ah," Jae ha commented slyly as he paused eating to watch Shin ah settle down to eat, and noticing him lean subtly against the newest addition to their crazy group. A familiar smirk popped up on his face, one that caused Shin ah to shift nervously in place.

"He's right, you were gone for quite a while, is everything ok," Kija—having also seen Jae ha's smirk—cut in quickly. His voice held a worried tone that the green dragon's voice had not. Shin ah blinked, _"Had he really been gone for so long,"_ and nodded to try and dispel Kija's worry. When the white dragon failed to look reassured, Shin ah decided this was one of those times when words were necessary,

". . .Is fine, . . . just thinking." His words drew the attention of Yona and Yun, Hak having been silently following the conversation and Zeno still enamored with his food, who shared a curious look before Yona took the initiative and asked what they were all probably wondering,

"Thinking about what, Shin ah," she asked with a tilt of her head. He just shrugged, not willing to risk talking about what had been bothering him, and hovered a little closer to Zeno as he purposely shoved the thoughts that Yona's question had brought up away. He was not going to break down here in front of the others. His actions brought an awkward silence as the other five members of the group stared at him, Zeno finally looking up from his food under the weight of the others' stares. Zeno followed their gazes to Shin ah, who was still hovering unusually close and was also incredibly tense as he—visibly from Zeno's perspective—fought to control the almost desperate urgings of his instincts to bolt. With a frown, Zeno placed his hand gently on Shin ah's arm to reassure him and ask a silent question at the same time. Shin ah felt himself begin to tremble slightly under the strain of the comforting, sunny, aura Zeno was projecting. He saw a realization in the other's eyes and received a barely perceptible nod before he was gone and was desperately running and running, ignoring the calls to come back. Shin ah had no way to know how far he had run before he regained control of his instincts, but he knew it was far enough that he could no longer see the camp. He was in a small clearing, close to a small water source he could only just hear over the gentle breeze. He took shallow, ragged, breaths as he pulled his mask and fur off—pilling them on the ground. Shin ah leaned heavily against the trunk of a tree as he turned his face to the moon, still shaking. Tears slipped down his face silently as he was overwhelmed by different memories of her.

 **Two small children sitting quietly underneath a tree, each working hard on a top held in their hands.**

 **Him on his back, looking up at her, she straddling him—a devious smirk on her face that was offset by the loving look in her eyes.**

 **The ground exploding around them from shallowly buried charges of gunpowder, both with a sword in their hand, and she caught his eyes with her own and he found a silent promise there, "We'll be fine."**

 **Waking up to the sounds of her thrashing in her sleep before she awakes, gasping desperately for air and look franticly for him before embracing him like he's the only thing holding her on Earth.**

 **The two of them laying on their backs in a grassy field, watching the stars and the moon in silence, their fingers interlocked.**

 **The smile covering her face as she told him all about the Dragon clans before the war, arms waving about as she talked.**

 **Her face grim and eyes hard as she stared down at the assassin that at attempted to kill him, the man's sword still buried hilt deep in her chest.**

 **Her sad smile as he came across her for the first time again, a smaller blonde held protectively in her arms as she finally explained the depths of her own curse to him.**

" _ **Each Dragon only has two Warriors at any time, but Ouryuu has only ever had two."**_

It is Zeno appearing in the clearing to return Shin ah from his darkening memories. He had slid down the tree trunk and was sitting on the ground. The smaller man seems worried, cautious (and Shin ah has to force away the hurt of any of his friends being afraid of him) and undeniably surprised when he finds Shin ah without his mask on. Shin ah does not care; he is too exhausted to care. He knew his eyes could never hurt another Warrior, especially not one of Ouryuu's. He meets Zeno's eyes without flinching, though Zeno did from whatever he found in them. Shin ah returned his gaze to the stars, hesitated reaching out with his aura—searching for some form of comfort. Zeno starts again—Shin ah forces himself not to look—and suddenly he has a lap-full of the small blonde who murmured comforting words in a language Shin ah knew but at the same time didn't and he was hugging the smaller dragon and silently crying into almost familiar silken hair. Neither knew how long they stayed that way before Zeno moved to sit beside Shin ah, the two still leaning comfortably against each other. Finally, Zeno asks the question he had been wondering since he had met Shin ah,

"Who?"

Shin ah looked at him, his beautiful golden eyes like liquid gold in the moonlight. She sighed, a sad half-smile on his face now as Shin ah tried to find the words to describe her. There was so much he could say, so much he wanted to say, but he knew that would have to wait until later. After a few minutes of searching, Zeno waiting patiently at his side, Shin ah spoke what could have been the truest sentence he could ever say regarding her,

". . . She is the most extraordinary being a soul could ever hope to meet." Zeno cocked an eyebrow at his sentence,

"That's pretty high praise." Shin ah smiled down at him,

"Oh, she is definitely worth it." The two settled down beneath the tree, and Shin ah began to tell the far older dragon about the woman who had made it her mission to save the damaged dragon blood scattered across the country. He talked the night away, the most he had ever talked in this life, and Zeno stayed quiet as he absorbed this new information like a sponge. The animals rose with the sun, and Zeno stiffly got to his feet before offering a hand to Shin ah. He took it, the older man easily pulling him up despite the size difference, and the two headed back to camp with Zeno in the lead and Shin ah picking his fur and mask up off the ground as they left. As the two pulled closer to the camp, an angry and worried Ao raced up to them and quickly scaled Shin ah to rub against his cheek. He reached up a hand to soothe his small friend as the three of them reached camp, where the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch were milling about worriedly. Hak, somewhat unsurprisingly, noticed them first and soon all five of camp inhabitants surrounded them, obviously concerned. Shin ah felt very overwhelmed and between Zeno and Yun the two managed to brow beat everyone into as close to order as this bunch could get. All of the morning excitement dealt with, the group is settled down for breakfast by a huffy Yun and this time no body comments on how close together Shin ah and Zeno sit, nor how Shin ah's hand is still shaking just a tiny bit until Zeno's presence raises just a fraction and the shaking stops. So no one says anything, even though everyone notices.

Shin ah never meant to gravitate towards Zeno, but as he looked down from the stars and to the small Warrior on his left who was listening intently to the same stories he had once listened to in a similar manner, all alone in a nearly empty cave system, he found that he didn't mind. He may not have planned on receiving the older man's companionship, but now that he had it he would make sure that the other knew that he no longer had to be alone. Neither of them did, and that, that was a great thing.


	3. Golden Bonds Preveiw

I have no idea how this story even happened, but here is a preview.

Zeno had been acting strange lately. No one really noticed it at first, but ever since the Happy Hungry Bunch had stopped just outside of a village to restock and to rest, Zeno had been disappearing off somewhere and he refused to tell where.

"Well if he isn't here, we need to go search the village for him," Yun decided as he finished up cleaning after breakfast, "Jae ha, you go with Hak, Kija you come with Yona and I," he turned to Shin ah next, "Your still to suspicious Shin ah, so you stay here and see if Zeno comes back to camp."

The white-haired teen had her back to Shin ah and was currently working on skinning a deer for their breakfast. As Shin ah reached the edge of the clearing, he slowed and waited at the edge until the teen—now finished preparing the deer—glanced over her shoulder at him, smiled, and jerked her head to the side to invite Shin ah into her camp.

Zeno had a sad, far away, look in his eyes as he talked about someone who was obviously very important to him. Shin ah was never one for much talking, but he could tell that it really did mean a lot to the smaller dragon that Shin ah had not told anyone about were Zeno had been going,

". . . She is important to you," Shin ah replied quietly as he gathered his large collection of wood into his arms, "I respect that."

A jingling sound caused a hand to fly up to the scarf holding up several pounds of hair, delicate fingers finding and gently rubbing the cool, smooth, gold piece that Zeno had carried for thousands of years. An unseen frown caused hard violet eyes to narrow, and Shin ah had no idea when or how the eye color had changed, but Zeno just smiled softly and shook his head

"It belongs to you just as much as it belongs to me."

If anyone has any ideas or opinions, I would be so excited to hear them.


	4. Golden Bonds

Ok so this started out as simple one-shot and then turned into this while I was writing it. I'm not to sure what to do with it now though. . . . . . . Help . . . . . . . . . anyone? I don't own the song, it is from Tales of Earthsea and I used the direct translation instead of the English variant.

"Speaking"

" _Thinking"_

" _ **Dragon language"**_

 _Singing_

Zeno had been acting strange lately. No one really noticed it at first, but ever since the Happy Hungry Bunch had stopped just outside of a village to restock and to rest, Zeno had been disappearing off somewhere and he refused to tell where. It started off small, he would go into town and get separated from Yun and Yona or he would take twice as long to gather firewood. Then, he started disappearing randomly during the day without telling anyone. No one thought to much about it until Yun noticed that Zeno was not there for breakfast one morning,

"Has anyone seen Zeno this morning," Yun asked with a frown on his face as he surveyed the camp to see if the small dragon was still sleeping despite the fact that the smell of food was usually more than enough to wake Zeno up. The other dragons shook their heads, and Hak frowned as he realized something startling.

"Hey," Hak began slowly, "Does anyone remember seeing him yesterday either?" Looks were exchanged as the everyone realized that no, no one could remember seeing Zeno for the last couple of days.

"What about you Shin ah? The two of you sleep together, did he tell you anything about where he was going," Jae ha—ever the clever one—asked while turning to the masked dragon. Shin ah shook his head, signaling that Zeno had not told him anything, but he almost hesitated and Hak's sharp eyes caught the slight pause. Hak eyed him, and Shin ah shifted under the scrutiny but in the end neither said anything.

"Well if he isn't here, we need to go search the village for him," Yun decided as he finished up cleaning after breakfast, "Jae ha, you go with Hak, Kija you come with Yona and I," he turned to Shin ah next, "Your still to suspicious Shin ah, so you stay here and see if Zeno comes back to camp." At Shin ah's nod, the others set off to search the town leaving him alone at camp. As soon as the others were far enough away, Shin ah dowsed the fire and headed off along the tree line they were camped against. His eyes easily found the clearing the yellow dragon was in. Zeno was still fast asleep, but his companion was not. The white-haired teen had her back to Shin ah and was currently working on skinning a deer for their breakfast. As Shin ah reached the edge of the clearing, he slowed and waited at the edge until the teen—now finished preparing the deer—glanced over her shoulder at him, smiled, and jerked her head to the side to invite Shin ah into her camp. He joined her then, moving to help the teen place the butchered deer to the large pot filled with heated water that was previously placed over the fire. As the stew cooked, the teen waved her hand absently over at Zeno—giving Shin ah her permission to wake the still sleeping dragon—as she cleaned up the deer skin so that she could add it to the pile of furs she had been gathering to make a cloak from. Shin ah reached Zeno and nudged the smaller dragon with his foot. When Zeno failed to awaken, Shin ah reached down to shake him and this time Zeno let loose a low grumble as he turned over. His companion snorted, shaking her head at the dragon's actions as she placed the finished skin with the others to dry. Moving to her breakfast she stirred the large pot as the meet cooked, the smell wafting up from the pot and causing Zeno to stir again. She smiled at the awake dragon, her eyes dancing with mirth. She added more wood to the dwindling fire, as well as adding to the cooking pot some herbs and vegetables that Shin ah recognized as growing wild nearby. As the food finished cooking, the teen patted beside her on the log being used as a bench to offer Shin ah a seat, that he hesitantly took, until the smell of food woke Zeno up. The yellow dragon finally stirred as the stew finished cooking, blinking his eyes tiredly as he stretched and yawned. Zeno seemed surprised to see Shin ah sitting at the fire, but his surprise was quickly pushed aside as his companion hit him in the face with his over coat—which she had been wearing for warmth over her tunic in the still frosty predawn cold. As Zeno scrambled to dress, the teen scooped another bowlful of the stew out and held it out with one hand while stirring the large pot with the other. The bowl was quickly swiped from her, and she easily filled a second before offering it to Shin ah on her right. The taller dragon hesitated, but eventually accepted the bowl and began to eat at a far slower pace than Zeno—who was already holding his bowl out for more. She rolled her eyes at the small blonde, but refilled his bowl before filling up a third for herself. The three sat in relative silence as they ate, easily finishing the entire pot, before Shin ah noticed that the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch gathering at the center of the village and preparing to return to their own camp. He tapped Zeno gently on the shoulder, who looked up at him before quickly downing what was left in his bowl and snagged his over coat from where he had left it on the ground earlier. He tossed his bowl to the teen, who caught it without looking, as Shin ah calmly handed his own borrowed bowl back to her, she was already preparing to wash the dishes from their breakfast. She waved with one hand as the two warriors left to return to their own camp. They made it just in time to settle down before the others rounded the corner and the camp came into view. Zeno was then yelled at by Yun for several minutes about not leaving without telling someone. After Yun finished yelling, Zeno and Shin ah were sent off to find some more firewood. As they were gathering wood, Zeno reached out to grab Shin ah's arm gently,

"Thank you for not telling anyone about Hime," he spoke unusually softly as he released Shin ah's arm. Shin ah furrowed his brow slightly in confusion, tilting his head a bit as well,

" _Why would I tell?"_ Zeno easily understood his fellow dragon's question and shrugged as he answered,

"Anyone else would have told, or at least brought it up and teased me with it, but you never even mentioned it and I know you have to have known before. So thank you . . .," he paused uncertainly before pushing on, "Hime . . . she's not really . . . much for people, she really prefers being alone most of the time and it isn't healthy, . . . for anyone. The two of us don't run into each other very often anymore. . . ." Zeno had a sad, far away, look in his eyes as he trailed off; his thoughts about someone who was obviously very important to him overwhelming him for a moment. Shin ah was never one for much talking, but he could tell that it really did mean a lot to the smaller dragon that Shin ah had not told anyone about were Zeno had been going.

". . . She is important to you," Shin ah replied quietly as he gathered his large collection of wood into his arms, "I respect that." Zeno gave him an odd look, though whether it was because he spoke or what he had said Shin ah had no idea. Zeno then smiled at the younger dragon before gathering his own considerable pile and leading the way back to camp. When they returned, Yun put Zeno on camp arrest and Zeno complained loudly about it, but his complaining was without any real heat. Yun then took Yona and Kija to help gather supplies for the group, Hak headed off to the blacksmith, and no one honestly wanted to ask where Jae ha was headed. A few minutes after they left, a rock flew out of the tree line and struck the ground next to were Zeno was laying. The rock startled both dragons, Shin ah going for his sword, before the same teen that had been sharing a camp with the yellow dragon slipped out of the tree line and Zeno leaped up excitedly.

"Hime! What are you doing here," Zeno asked as he basically draped his slightly smaller frame over her shoulder. She laughed—a surprisingly deep, bell-like, sound—and shoved the small blonde off her. Shin ah took this time to more closely examine this new person; Hime's long white hair was really the only physical characteristic he had noticed earlier but now he could tell that she also had very beautiful deep red eyes, surprisingly pale skin under the dirt that coated most of her face, and what were obviously borrowed clothes, considering that they appeared to be older than the teen herself.

" _ **Maa, I need to head into the village for some extra supplies and to pick up my bow and arrows from the blacksmith,"**_ she now rubbed the back of her head nervously—her knee length hair swinging back and forth from the force, " _ **Do you mind if I borrow your scarf again,"**_ Hime asked sheepishly as she avoided making eye contact with Zeno. Shin ah was incredibly surprised at how deep the teen's voice was considering her rather small stature. Despite the fact that she was only slightly taller than Zeno, her voice was noticeably deeper than the blonde dragon. Shin ah was so caught up in how deep the teen's voice was that he completely missed that she had spoken a different language. Zeno sighed, shaking his head at the unusual display of meekness from the girl in front of him in amusement. Zeno smiled at her and gestured for her to sit on a log near the dead fire. She smiled back and joined Shin ah around the fire pit, offering her long tresses to her golden haired friend. Zeno sighed again and unwrapped his head scarf, gathering her thin hair up into a firm top knot and tying it in place with the long fabric before also pulling off his second scarf and deftly wrapping it around the lower half of her face. With her hair pulled back and her face concealed, Hime looked nothing like what she had just a few moments ago and Shin ah believed that if he had not just watched her transformation take place then he would have no idea that the kind-rambunctious—girl and the calm—well seasoned—traveler in front of him were the same person. A jingling sound caused a hand to fly up to the scarf holding up several pounds of hair, delicate fingers finding and gently rubbing the cool, smooth, gold piece that Zeno had carried for thousands of years. An unseen frown caused hard violet eyes to narrow, and Shin ah had no idea when or how the eye color had changed, but Zeno just smiled softly and shook his head

"It belongs to you just as much as it belongs to me." The hand withdrew and the hard look softened into something far more gentle and caring. The stranger in front of the two dragons bowed his head, because while Shin ah knew the teen was a woman the person standing before him now appeared both several years older and most assuredly male and he was struggling to wrap his mind around it, and headed off towards the town. The two dragons watched until they could no longer see the strange figure that had disappeared almost as quickly as she had appeared. The rest of the day passed unremarkably, with Zeno deciding to take a nap after working for several hours on what he claimed was a personal project when he first brought it out and Shin ah practicing his swordsmanship while keeping an eye out for intruders. A lone wolf approached the camp at one point, just shortly before the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch returned, and it brought with it one of Zeno's scarves. "Thank you Moon song," he said calmly as he accepted his scarf from the large animal. Zeno then hap-hazardly draped his scarf back around his shoulders just as the others returned from town, Jae ha clearly by threat of no food later going by his disgruntled frown and Hak's satisfied smirk. Yun gave the orders for water to be fetched to cook with and who was going to be helping to prepare the food, so in short order everything was ready and cooking. As everyone settled down to eat, Zeno continued to steadily ignore the stare Hak had been giving him ever since Hak had returned from the village. Unfortunately, Zeno was not the only person to notice Hak's staring and unlike Zeno, Kija was perfectly alright with calling Hak out on it.

"Did something happen in the village earlier Hak, because you have been staring fairly heavily at Zeno ever since we have returned," Kija questioned over the edge of his bowl—causing Zeno to twitch ever so slightly as the younger dragon drew attention to something he had hoped the other would just ignore. Once Kija opened the subject up, it was like a dam had burst and Jae ha had no problem jumping on the subject,

"Kija is right, Hak, you've been watching Zeno pretty heavily ever since we got back. Is there something you need to tell us, hmm," Jae ha wiggled his visible eyebrow at Hak, who then chucked a rock at his head. Hak frowned, glaring at Jae ha before turning his attention back to the yellow dragon sitting across from him. Said dragon continued to eat his food, at least until everyone else in the group turned turned their attention to him and the staring caused Zeno to slowly lower his bowl and meet Hak's eyes. Hak smirked as he raised his own food bowl back to his lips,

"I was just wondering what happened to his head scarf while we were in town," Hak commented slyly as he continued to eat. The others blinked in various levels of surprise, Zeno was indeed still missing his head scarf and none of them had noticed until Hak had mentioned it's absence. Zeno blinked a few times, one of his hands rising up to touch where it would have rested against his forehead. He had honestly forgotten it was missing seeing as he rarely wore it while in Hime's camp.

"Ah," Zeno replied quietly before shrugging, "Oh well, Zeno's sure Zeno get it back." His statement caused several eyebrows to be raised in disbelief at Zeno's lack of concern over something as important to him as his scarf, or more specifically the medallion that hung from the scarf. Seeing that the others were really not buying his admittedly poor excuse—Zeno plastered a smile on his face as he reassured them, "Really you guys, it happens sometimes. Zeno does not mind too much, it always comes back in perfect condition, sometimes even better than before it was taken." Turning back to his food, Zeno resolutely ignored the gapping faces of his friends in favor of the delicious meal until the sound of a fast moving projectile caused him to jerk backwards as an arrow sliced through the trees and stuck into a tree a few feet behind him, right at eye level. Tied to the arrow was Zeno's missing scarf, freshly washed and cleaner than he ever managed to get it. Calmly, and still firmly ignoring both the fact that said arrow had almost just ended up embedded between his eyes again instead of in the tree and his friends' sudden grabs for their weapons, Zeno removed the previously missing piece of fabric and retied it around his head. Then the smallest dragon planted his foot against the tree, carefully took hold of the arrow, and pulled hard while also pushing off the tree with his foot. The arrow slowly slid back a few centimeters before suddenly slipping free and sending Zeno falling backwards as he flailed his arms to try and stay upright. _**"Damn arrow,"**_ he murmured darkly before carefully putting the arrow into his sash for safekeeping until he could make a trip out to see Hime again. Zeno then proceeded to completely ignore everyone else for the rest of the night after sending an unworried and highly amused look at Shin ah when he felt the larger dragon watching him. Eventually, the group gave up their attempts to pester Zeno, he had way more patience then they expected, and everyone settled down for bed. Zeno got several disgruntled looks from Hak and Jae ha, who really did not appreciate being ignored, as he settled down next to Shin ah for the first half of the night. With an unexpected patience and some really awesome ninja skills, Zeno waited until the moon was high overhead and it has changed from a late night to a very early morning before carefully sliding from his spot next to Shin ah and silently exiting from the camp. Moving quickly, still not making a sound, Zeno traveled the faint not-really-a-path line that acted as a trail for traveling around Hime's camp. Reaching the clearing that currently hosted her camp, Zeno continued moving past it—traveling along barely their paths that crisscross and intersect in patterns that would definitely require a map if he had not helped to create them. As the trees thinned out again, Zeno slowed as a gently humming separated from the sounds of a waterfall and drifted up from the banks of a small lake that was created when an earthquake had dammed up the flow of a small creek several decades ago. As he approached, the humming changed into a beautiful song that was lovingly masked by the trees surrounding the lake.

 _Far far above the clouds against the setting sun_

 _A falcon flies all alone, soaring in the wind_

 _I hear his lonely cry_

 _So sad must he be_

 _Riding the silent wind, the falcon flies alone_

 _Reaching up with his wings grasps the empty sky_

 _Riding silent with the wind never can he rest_

 _What it is within my heart no one can ever know_

 _A heart like a falcon is this very heart_

 _What it is within my heart no one can ever know_

 _Lonely falcon in the empty sky_

 _I walk alone along deserted country roads_

 _Walk with me side by side_

 _You are always there_

 _I feel your loneliness_

 _Lonely you must be_

 _Crickets they are whispering in the grassy fields_

 _You walk there by my side_

 _Walk that path with me_

 _But you never say a word_

 _Never do you speak_

 _What it is within my heart no one can ever know_

 _Here inside this heart that walks this path alone_

 _What it is within my heart no one can ever know_

 _The sadness of one who always is alone_

 _I walk alone along deserted country roads_

 _Walk with me side by side_

 _You are always there_

 _I feel your loneliness_

 _Lonely you must be_

 _Crickets they are whispering in the grassy fields_

 _You walk there by my side_

 _Walk that path with me_

 _But you never say a word_

 _Never do you speak_

 _What it is within my heart no one can ever know_

 _Here inside this heart that walks this path alone_

 _What it is inside my heart no one can ever know_

 _The sadness of one who always is alone_

Standing along the bank, facing the full moon, was a figure from legends. Silken violet hair fell smoothly down her back, and pale skin almost glowing in the moon light only served to make the deep purple scales that peeked out from beneath her clothes. Her eyes were closed and her face was serene as the quiet humming rose and fell in pitch as the song reached its ending. Finished, there were a few seconds of silence when neither of them moved before she shifted and turned to face him with a smile on her face.

" _ **Hello Brother,"**_ Hime greeted him quietly, her deep amethyst eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Zeno grinned at his closest friend as he jumped down from the hill he was on that overlooked the lake,

" _ **Hello Sister,"**_ he returned just as softly as he landed silently next to her. Hime ruffled his hair affectionately as the two settled down on the bank to enjoy their stolen time together under the moonlight. The two spoke little as they soaked up the peace from the moonlit water, leaning gently on each other. Suddenly, Zeno broke the silence that had surrounded them, _**"You're happy tonight,"**_ he remarked sounding pleased and just a little inquisitive.

" _ **Ahh,"**_ Hime responded carelessly, _**"it is rare that we get the opportunity to meet and even rarer to meet under the full moon. It would be a waste if our time together was spent brooding on the past we cannot change instead the future we can."**_ Zeno snorted but it was offset by the honest smile on his face,

" _ **True enough,"**_ he agreed with her, _**"true enough."**_ The two stayed in silence for a few more minutes before the moon began to sink in the sky again. The two had barely spoken to each other, but they had still conveyed everything they had wanted to share. Hime was the first to get up, rising with all the grace of her namesake, before offering a hand to Zeno.

" _ **You should be leaving; the others will be rising soon."**_ He grasped her hand and let her pull him up unto his feet. She offered him a small smile that he returned,

" _ **We're leaving the area in the morning,"**_ Zeno tells her suddenly, his eyes searching her for some secret they might divulge for him. Hime's smile softened and she squeezed his hand comfortingly,

" _ **I know,"**_ She tells him—letting his hand go in order to lean forward and place a gentle kiss on his forehead before pushing him backwards slightly, _**"Goodbye."**_ Zeno frowned, but nodded and placed a kiss of his own on her cheek,

" _ **Goodbye,"**_ he says back as he turned away and began his lonely trek back to his own camp. The trail is much clearer to him from this direction and it only takes him half the time to reach the edge of the clearing the camp was in. Just as silently has he had left, Zeno made his way around the dead fire and slipped down to his place on the ground next to Shin ah to sleep the remaining few hours until Yun forced them up to continue traveling.

After being awakened by the smell of food the next morning, the group ate and packed up and set out through the trees, passing strait through the clearing that Hime had been staying in—completely empty of it's pervious occupant and offering no clues that until the sun rose this morning someone had been living there. Zeno dropped back to trail behind the group a little as he turned around to view the empty clearing, _"Goodbye Sister,"_ he though sadly before turning back around and running after the rest of the dragons and their king. Unseen blood red eyes watch him leave, a hidden and sad smile on her face as Hime watched Zeno leave before standing and leaving herself—traveling in the direction that they had come from,

" _Goodbye Brother"_


End file.
